If you grew up in the era of the 50s, then you already know what a great time that was, especially if you were a teenager!  It was the beginning of Rock & Roll music, DJs, hot cars, James Dean... and "being cool".  Back in the 50s being cool was the most important thing in the world for a teengage kid.  But it was learning how to be cool that was the challenge. 

"The Art of Being Cool" is loosely based on my life growing up in the small city of Woburn, Massachusetts.  We lived in an Italian neighborhood called the "South-End", and within our neighborhood was the greatest pizza joint in all New England... Louie's Pizza!  Louie's was our hang-out, and it plays a central roll in the book.  And It had a jukebox like you just cannot believe.  All the latest rock & roll songs came blaring out of that juke every-single-day and night. 

In the book, myself and my three buddies, Jigsy, Sully, and Pugsy, hang out at Louie's each day eating pizza, listening to the Platters, The Drifters, The Skyliners, The Marcels, and discussing important worldly matters such as the bra, the affects of "beach sand" on street machines... and babes.

"The Art of Being Cool" is written and seen through the eyes of fifteen-year-old Joey Morrelli as he and his pals enter the summer of 1959.  His friends have fine street machines and are in the process of teaching Joey how to be cool, to include, all the cool moves and looks.  And trust me, the things these four guys do and say are simply hilarious.  The older teens not only developed these specific cool looks and moves, but gave each one of them names, also.  In a gut-splitting manner, the young studs immediately go through various series of these moves and looks everytime they see a girl.  And even the simplest of things requires a special "cool" way of doing it, such as... standing.    

Here's a small example.  Joey is in Louie's Pizza talking to a young lady near the jukebox.  His buddies are watching him closely, and call him aside. (Be advised, all the dialogue below is copyright protected).

"Hey, Joey," Sully says to him, "Whatsamatta wit chue!  You ain't standin' right."

"Whaddia mean, I ain't standin' right?" Joey asks.

Pugsy suddenly jumps into the conversation, and tells Joey, "Standin', Joey, standin'!  We're watchin' and you ain't standin' the stand!  All you're doin' is standin'!"

Jigsy can't wait to put in his two-cents worth, and says to Joey, "Look Joey, can't ya see it?!  What you're doin' is just standin' there, talkin' to the babe like some kinda stroonz or somethin', ya see?  You gotta understand, a cool guy don't just stand there talkin' to a babe, he - he stands there, ya got me?" 

Sully is gruntin' and groanin'; shoulder-shruggin' all over the place when he finally says to Joey, "Yeah yeah, Joey, don't you get it?  Now listen to me here, when you go back there to the babe, the first thing ya  gotta do when you walk up to her is toss her a quick snarl, and don't forgert to curl your upper lip, that's important.  And make it quiver a bit, too... they likes it when a guy's upper lip quivers, ya see?  And then go into your standin' mode.  But not your standin' mode, the cool standin' mode... got me?  'Cause, I'm tellin you, if you stand the way you've been standin', without standin' the stand, then you're still gonna be standin' there long after the babe splits... understand?"  

Believe it or not these guys actually understand perfectly well what they're talking about.  To them, being cool is a state of mind... an art-form.  And they put everything they have - as ridiculous as it may appear - into being cool.  And trust me, you'll never read anything as funny as these four young teens working their cool trying their very best to impress all the girls.

 "The Art of Being Cool" is pre-"American Graffiti", "Happy Days", and "Grease".  This is all pure 50's humor, music, and what being cool was really all about!

Tuffy (2009)